


Miles Away

by popfly



Category: Schitt's Creek (TV) RPF
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:14:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24373348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/popfly/pseuds/popfly
Summary: Clare stays home with Redmond while Dan and Noah are away for the UC&P tour.
Relationships: Clare Stone/Dan Levy/Noah Reid
Comments: 12
Kudos: 18





	Miles Away

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NeelyO](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeelyO/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEELY!!!!! You are truly the loveliest human being of all time, and I'm so glad we got to know each other via this fandom. I hope you have the best day, you deserve it. 💍✨
> 
> Thanks as always to Gray (for validation and betaing) and TINN (for validation and title assistance).

The room is nice, despite the generic artwork and the lack of a view. The bathroom has a real door, and the bed is as wide as their bed at home. 

“A California king, right here in Baltimore?” Noah gasps, faux-impressed, as he chucks his backpack onto the bedspread. Dan is poking through the closet, looking for a luggage stand. 

“You’re so sweet, but if anything wouldn’t I be a Canadian prince?”

Noah snorts a laugh, unzipping his bag to dig out his phone charger. He always forgets to charge it before they go to the airport, and he wants to have the most battery power possible before they leave for the theater. As he’s plugging in, Dan’s phone chimes, echoing in the bathroom where Dan is probably lining up products on the counter. 

“It’s Clare,” Dan says, coming out into the room with his phone up in front of his face. It must be a video call. “Hi!” Dan says, a grin spreading unchecked across his face. Noah hears Clare greet Dan just as enthusiastically, and smiles to himself as he finishes up with his own phone. 

“How was the flight?” Clare asks. She waves as Noah settles in at Dan’s side, perching on the edge of the bed. She’s at the dining room table, bright sun streaming in and bouncing off her hair, making her eyes glitter. 

“Fine,” Dan says. Noah nudges his shoulder. “Miserable.”

Clare shifts her gaze to Noah, and they both bite down on fond smiles. Dan loves to travel, but he doesn’t like the actual process of it. Dan picks up on their shared look and rolls his eyes.

“How’s our boy?” Dan settles more fully against Noah’s side, leans his head closer so they’re framed better on the screen. Clare’s video shakes a little and then the view flips, and she tilts the camera down until they can see Redmond, sprawled out next to her chair. 

“Red!” Noah calls, and Redmond barely twitches his ear. They hear a peal of Clare’s laughter through the speaker. 

“He doesn’t miss us at all,” Dan says, pouting. Redmond perks up a little more when he hears Dan’s voice, but still barely reacts. Dan pouts. 

“You’ve only been gone for like six hours,” Clare says, flipping the camera back around. It may only have been a handful of hours, but Noah already misses her, and Redmond, too. 

“What are you two going to get up to tonight?” Noah asks, even though they know she’s planning on spending the weekend relaxing in various rooms of the house, and various spots out in the yard as well. She’ll revel in her time without Noah and Dan getting under feet, Noah is sure.

“Oh, wild party, you know. At least a hundred people. Multiple cases of wine. The DJ should be here any minute.”

“Don’t let anyone fuck in the pool,” Dan says.

“And keep people out of our room,” Noah says. 

“My room this weekend,” Clare says, and smirks. “All to myself. No snoring, no blanket stealing … “

“Hey!” Dan and Noah say in stereo, with varying degrees of indignance. Even though she isn’t wrong. 

“Red and I are going to take it easy, I promise. I have a book for tonight, and we’re gonna go on a hike with Stacey tomorrow. Brunch on Sunday, of course. We’ll miss you.”

“We miss you too,” Dan says, and Noah ticks his chin over Dan’s shoulder, his stubble bristly against Noah’s cheek. 

“We love you,” Noah says, and Clare tips her head. 

“Love you both. Have a good show. Call me when you’re in for the night.”

They blow a flurry of kisses back and forth and then Dan ends the call. Noah slides his arm around Dan’s waist, letting him take more of Noah’s weight, and ducks his chin so he can press a kiss to Dan’s shoulder. 

***

Four straight days of live shows is a lot, and as soon as Noah flops onto the hotel bed, shoes still on, he’s glad Dan vetoed the idea of flying straight home after the last one. As it is they have to be up fairly early to get to the airport, but the thought of dealing with security and other humans right now is too overwhelming to even entertain.

Other humans that aren’t Clare, at least. When Dan lays down next to Noah, also still fully clothed, and rolls over to drape himself over Noah’s chest, Noah feels her missing presence on his other side like a phantom limb. He wiggles so he can get his hand into his pocket and get out his phone. There’s just enough juice for a quick FaceTime.

Dan has his face fully smushed into Noah’s pec, but he perks up at the familiar tones of the FaceTime call starting and then connecting. Noah tries to hold the screen up at an angle that captures both of their faces, but he can’t quite manage, so Clare gets Dan from the lower lip up and Noah from the hairline down.

“Hi,” she says, and she sounds as tired as Noah feels. Dan shifts, and his mirror image in the screen squints at her.

“Did we wake you up?” he asks. She’s in bed, dimly lit by moonlight. She has her chin propped on one hand, hair fanned across the pillowcase.

“No, I was waiting for you to call.”

“We miss you,” Noah says, and she smiles.

“We miss you, too.”

“Is Red in bed with you?” Dan asks. Redmond doesn’t like sleeping with them, usually, because they all take up too much space and disrupt his slumber. Napping is one thing, but at night he sticks to his own bed on the floor. He’s taken to sleeping with Clare though, while Dan and Noah are gone. It’s sweet to picture, but it also makes Noah’s chest ache with homesickness.

“He is. Totally zonked. He’s starting to snore as bad as Noah.”

Dan laughs, the sound soothing. At least Noah has part of home with him.

“How did the show go?” Clare asks, and Noah settles in to let Clare and Dan chat, interjecting a few things here and there, but happy to just listen and keep shifting to keep Dan in the frame as he talks.

“Are you still good to pick us up from the airport?” Noah asks, when Dan has wound down and the battery on Noah’s phone has dipped dangerously low. 

“Of course,” Clare says. She’s dropped her head to the pillow, and her eyelids look heavier than they did at the beginning of the call. Noah wants to reach through the phone and stroke her cheek. “I’ll bring Redmond, it’ll be the reunion of the century.”

“Can’t wait,” Dan says, and Noah echoes the sentiment. They blow kisses and trade I-love-yous, and then Noah reaches over to plug in his phone. Dan rolls off the bed to pad to the bathroom, probably to start his skincare and get his pajamas on. Noah could probably doze off right there with his shoes still on but Dan would kill him, so he reluctantly gets to his feet.

He’s tugging a t-shirt over his head when Dan finishes up in the bathroom and comes up behind him, sliding his arms around Noah’s bare waist right before the shirt settles into place. Noah tips his cheek for a kiss, which Dan manages even at the odd angle. “Will be good to get home,” Dan says, lips warm against Noah’s skin.

“Yeah,” Noah agrees. “It will.”

***

Naturally LAX is a madhouse, but it’s easier to handle when they’re coming home than when they’re leaving. Dan is power walking through the terminal, and Noah is easily keeping pace, excited to get out to the curb where Clare will be waiting for them.

Dan texts her to let her know they’re outside before they’re even out the door, and then they stand at the edge of a throng of people, waiting for her to pull around.

When she does, expertly and aggressively navigating between cars to get a prime spot, Noah can’t help the happy laugh that bursts out of him. The passenger window is open and Redmond is peeking out, ears perked. Dan looks on the verge of tears at the sight.

“Hi!” Clare cries, climbing out of the driver’s seat and rounding the front of the car. She grabs for Dan with one arm, reaching for Noah with the other. Noah goes, happily, and breathes in her comforting scent as he presses his face to her hair. “It’s so good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back,” Dan says from the other side of Clare. His hand is covering Noah’s on Clare’s back, and he squeezes Noah’s fingers. A lump of emotion lodges in Noah’s throat.

“Can we get in the car before we all start crying?” Noah asks, and both Clare and Dan laugh wetly, letting him go.

Dan lets Noah have the front seat, climbing in back to coax Redmond to join him. Redmond noses at Noah with his paws on the console, letting Noah rub his ears and scratch under his chin before settling back next to Dan.

As soon as Clare gets back behind the wheel, Noah leans over to kiss her cheek. “Thanks for coming to get us.”

“Of course,” she says, signaling and then pulling out into the flow of traffic. “The sooner we get to see you guys, the better.”

She gets them out of the airport easily, merging onto the freeway with her hair blowing in the breeze from the open window. Dan is murmuring to Redmond in the backseat, and the sun is shining. Noah leans his elbow out the window and smiles. It’s good to be home.

**Author's Note:**

> Gray, TINN, and DP also wrote excellent Redmond-centric (and Redmond POV!) gift fics for Neely, you should go read them:
> 
> [good morning, sunshine(s)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24364792) by thegrayness  
> [Bougie Romaine and Famous Secret Marinade](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24370801) by this_is_not_nothing  
> [Movie Night](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24375058) by DisgruntledPelican


End file.
